Industrial vehicles, such as forklifts, are commonly used in warehouse and industrial settings to move and place objects. Often these objects are very heavy, necessitating conventional forklifts to be proportionally built to properly balance these heavy loads. As a general rule, the actual weight of a forklift (i.e. service weight) will be 1.5 to 2 times the lift capacity of the forklift. For example, if a forklift has a lifting capacity of 5,000 pounds, the service weight of the forklift will be somewhere between 7,500-10,000 pounds. This excessive weight helps the forklift, in combination with adjustable fulcrum points, to properly balance heavy loads without tipping over.
While the excessive weight helps properly balance heavy loads, the excessive weight comes at a cost of requiring large motors to operate the forklift. These large motors contribute to an increased service weight, and consume large quantities of energy to operate. Additionally, when lifting lighter loads, the forklift does not need all of the service weight in order to balance the load. However, the large motor will still consume large quantities of energy to move the unneeded weight.
If an industrial vehicle such as a forklift could be made lighter while maintaining the same lifting capacity as a conventional forklift, then the forklift could use a smaller motor, and the user could reduce operational costs.